Nicknamed "The German Steel Machine", Von Kaiser is a militant German ring veteran and also a boxing teacher at the military academy but is a novice challenge for Little Mac. He is easily stunned and floored with one of Mac's big uppercuts. However, Kaiser can still attack with his flurry of left and right uppercuts, but with any skill at all his celebration will be short lived. In fact, Von Kaiser can be defeated simply by alternating left and right punches to his face after he misses an uppercut. Unlike most opponents, you can alternate left and right punches until he falls down; usually the limit is 5 or 11. As shown in Punch-Out!! on the Wii, he suffers some emotional trauma, stemming from when he was beaten by a group of children in one of his boxing classes.

Von Kaiser made his first appearance on the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! as the second opponent in the Minor Circuit. Kaiser didn't pose much of threat for the player, and some people even find him easier than Glass Joe. For being ranked one higher than Glass Joe, he should be at least as hard as him. He'd mostly use ordinary hooks but would after a while start using uppercuts too. He'd shake his head before a punch and after he attacks, he'd be knocked out automatically if Little Mac used a super uppercut against him after stunning him. He has the same body as Great Tiger.

Von Kaiser appears in Punch-Out!! as the second opponent in the Minor Circuit. Here it was revealed that he suffers emotional trauma as a result of being defeated by children. During a match, he defends his face fully, but because of his trauma, he'll take a peek and cry: "mommy". When peeking, the player can punch his face to earn a Star. Star Punching him at any moment where he's open will knock him to the ground instantly. Kaiser also regained his previous attacks from his previous appearance. Here, he is voiced by Horst Laxton, and speaks legitimate German.

Instant KO Trick: When he is cowering, and then peeks out to say "Mommy!", use a three-star uppercut. Not only do you win the fight really quickly, but his face gets badly damaged.

Instant KD Tricks:

Hit Von Kaiser with a Star Punch while he is stunned.

Hit Von Kaiser with a One- or Two-Star Punch when he says "Mommy!".

Attacks:

Left Jab: Von Kaiser's basic move. He twitches his head to let you know it's coming and then he punches. You can duck or block it, like Glass Joe's Left Jab. You can also punch him when he twitches his head to get a Star Punch.

Right Uppercut: Von Kasier bends over to his right, says a small word in German while cocking his head, and punches. This attack is very similar to Glass Joe's Right Uppercut. You can't block this attack; you can only dodge it. You can also hit him when he twitches his head to get a Star Punch.

Mommy: After you Star Punch him or daze him (at times), Von Kaiser will cover his face and cower. You can't punch through his defense. Wait until he pops his head and says "mommy" before punching him, where you can get a star. Also, if you have a Three Star Punch, use it on him when he says "mommy" for an OHKO.

Laugh: Von Kaiser only does this when he keeps on blocking your punches. He will dodge your punch, moving towards a corner, and laugh at you. If you punch him, you'll earn a Star Punch.

Von Kaiser returns in Title Defense to try to take Little Mac's title. His attire changed little, except for a military haircut. He also got over his emotional trauma and learned to fake out his opponents. He adds a charge attack which can be dodged by reading his movements. Some of his uppercuts are accompanied by the sound of a shotgun being fired. He no longer gets knocked down by a single Star Punch, and to add insult to injury, it doesn't even do much damage, like most Title Defense opponents. Additionally, his uppercuts will sometimes get faked and he will dodge some punches, and he has a new attack that is nicknamed the "Von Kaiser Wave". It's a OHKD attack (much like Bald Bull's Bull Charge attack), but it's ridiculously predictable, so dodge to the opposite direction of where he is coming at you, and, to stun him, hit him to what side he is on. Later in the fight, if he dodges any punch, he will sometimes respond with an uppercut of almost impossible speed. It can be evaded however if you're cautious enough. If you lose to him in Title Defense, he'll simply look at Little Mac (who's all tired after taking a beating) and then laugh at him in amusement.

Stars:

Jab him while his head is twitching before his normal jab.

Hit him when he laughs after dodging a Star Punch.

Hit him when he laughs after you do a delayed jab after a stun.

Counter his Fast Right Uppercut with a hook.

Counter his Delayed Left Uppercut with a hook.

Counter his Fake Right Uppercut with a hook.

Counter his Fake Left Uppercut with a hook.

Instant KD Tricks:

Use a Three-Star Punch while Von Kaiser is stunned.

Use any uppercut after you have found all the star opportunities.

Attacks:

Von Kaiser Spin Attack (AKA: The Kaiser Bomb): After being knocked down, he stands back up, punches his head multiple times and yells "ATTACKE!" and then does a spinning punch in one general direction. It is a dangerous move to contend with in early attempts at the match, but later on, It's more predictable and all you have to do is dodge to the other side, but dodging the wrong way or staying in the middle will result in an instant Knockdown. At times, he goes to the back of the ring and does his battle cry, and then attacks multiple times in a row.

Fast Right Uppercut: Von Kaiser's orginal move except much faster and stronger. If you punch him quick enough after he talks, you could get a Star. If he is going to attack for real, you'll hear a shotgun go off.

Delayed Left Uppercut: Von Kaiser steps to right and laughs at you, and then punches. This is a especially tricky move because it takes him so long before he punches. If you time it right, hitting him when he finishes speaking will give a Star Punch. If he's going to attack for real, you'll hear a shotgun go off.

Fast Jab: A cuckoo sounds, Von Kaiser says "Cuckoo!" or "Punsch!", and then punches fast. This attack can be blocked.

Jab: Von Kaiser's original twitching of the head and then punching attack except that it is a tad bit faster and stonger. If you hit him when he twitches his head, you can get a Star Punch. Jabs work better for the star.

Fake Right Uppercut: Von Kaiser says his line in German and moves to the right but doesn't punch you as a fake. If you punch him quickly after he speaks, you can get a Star Punch. You'll know this is fake because you won't hear a shotgun go off.

Fake Left Uppercut: Von Kaiser steps to the left and says a line in German but doesn't punch. You can punch him quickly after he speaks for a Star Punch. You'll know this is fake because you won't hear a shotgun go off.

Laugh: Von Kaiser only does this when you use a star uppercut when he isn't stunned or when you perform a delayed jab as he recovers from a stun. (They are considered 2 separate moves, so earning a star for both counts as 2 stars for the 7 star challenge.) He will dodge your punch, moving towards a corner, laugh at you, and sometimes (but not always) attempt to punch you. If you punch him, you'll earn a Star Punch.

His visual appearance may have been inspired by Wilhelm II, German Emperor during WWI.

Contrary to popular belief, he is not the only character to have facial hair as well as have head hair. The other boxers are Piston Hurricane, Gabby Jay, Bob Charlie, and possibly Great Tiger (A small strand of hair was seen hanging from his turban in the arcade SPO).

For unknown reasons, even though he got over his emotional trauma in Title Defense, Von Kaiser still seemed to quake as if reliving a traumatic experience in between the matches in Title Defense.

He's the only opponent in the game (only on the Wii edition in Title Defense) that has a KD attack that is impossible to counter, not even with a three-star uppercut.

Von Kaiser's one-hit knockdown move in Title Defense mode is referred to in-game as a "spin punch" (not to be confused with Super Macho Man's version). Fans have taken to calling it "The Von Kaiser Wave" after a special move used in the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters game series, used by Wolfgang Krauser and Rugal Bernstein.

In Title Defense, it is possible to hit Von Kaiser with a star punch without him being in a stun. Dodge any of his attacks, and if a star punch is performed, he won't try to dodge but gets scared instead.

Of the challengers of the Minor Circuit, Von Kaiser has come the closest to training seriously for a match (As Von Kaiser was at least seen trying to teach his students boxing, which in a way is similar to training. Glass Joe mainly just ate bread and drank Coffee in Paris, Disco Kid seemed to just disco and party all the time, and King Hippo spent most of the day eating, and the rest sleeping.).

Von Kaiser is placed below Disco Kid in Punch Out! for Wii, but he has the best record in the Minor Circuit. It's possible that Von Kaiser was a good boxer until he was beaten by his students, sending him down the ranks in the process; simply out of his prime, or lost to Disco Kid.